The man who brought the fire to the Danube Bend

Gold medals from international competitions, newspaper articles, TV appearances, personal meetings or the legendary Hungarian Chili Festival in Nagymaros – we run into the typical logo and the easy-to-remember name in so many places that only a few people know that it’s not a well-run company, but rather an enthusiastic couple behind the brilliant chili sauces.

Growing peppers has been a custom in Hungary for centuries, did you also take over this job as a family tradition?

I met chili for the first time during a journey to Finland. That was when I realised how different it was from what I’ve known as hot pepper in Hungary. Like everyone else at that time, I started the adventure with a few plants grown in the window, but the successful beginnings motivated me to plant more and more peppers every year. I wasn’t born into a farmer family and I don’t even have a relevant qualification – I did this besides work as a hobby for years. I used to work at the national railways as public purchaser, but there was a point where I replaced my comfortable office with risky business: year after year I grew more peppers and we produced more sauce. I had to choose: take it more seriously and devote all my efforts to this or keep it as something I do for pleasure.

It seems like going all-in worked out for you. However, since then there has been much more competition – how many chili farmers can make a living in Hungary?

I listened to my heart, but aside from my emotions I’ve put a lot of effort into making Gabko Chili a widely recognised product. To do this, I needed to win more American competitions that were considered to be professional world championships, yet there is a lot of work behind these achievements or the stars earned at the Great Taste Awards in London. Establishing the production kitchen and cultivating our plantation in Nagymaros takes all my efforts and even more – I do everything with my family, but we have our limits. In recent months, I’ve received a number of exciting invitations from Asia, but fulfilling these would require a new level of work from us – even the Hungarian market requires a full effort, but expanding abroad would require even more. In Hungary there are a growing number of chili farmers; many of them debut in person at the Hungarian Chili Festival in Nagymaros organised every year at the end of summer – that’s when the regular farmers’ market is all about capsaicin, the hot ingredient of pepper, and some of the city’s restaurants, cake shops and buffets also offers special, savoury delicacies. You might meet several Hungarian chili farmers at the event. It’s a fact that more and more people grow chili, some of them as a hobby, while others have serious business plans. There are some regions in Hungary that have everything it takes to be successful: Nagymaros is not one of these traditional pepper-growing places, but we still believe in the Danube Bend!

Not everyone can eat hot products, therefore it is important that the sauces are available in different potency: we offer goods ranging from ultra strong to softer blends in every category. Fruity and smoky flavours also go well with chili, and its aroma compounds practically cry out to be coupled with other raw materials. We usually use the world’s strongest varieties: Carolina Reaper, Trinidad Scorpion Moruga and Naga Jolokia – these are available in a concentrated form for those who can handle them, or who wish to enjoy one hundred percent pure natural flavours. In this case, it’s enough to add a very small amount in the soup to experience what they can do as a spice. The essence of chili is not only pungency: it provides dishes with a flavour and aroma that cannot be attained using traditional Hungarian red peppers. It is no coincidence that more and more people find it indispensible to have a bit chili on the dining table.